It has always been necessary to insure that hydraulic systems are free of air, dirt and other impurities in order to insure that the system operates in an efficient and effective manner. It is well known to partially disconnect a conduit in order to bleed air from a liquid system. However, this method of bleeding air also allows some of the liquid to drip or flow out thus being detrimental to the environment. Furthermore, this method of venting air does not aid in the purging of dirt and other debris from the system. In order to remove dirt from a system, it is known that a conduit can be totally disconnected and air can be blown through the line. This method can be beneficial in removing larger particles but is not very effective in removing smaller particles. Some smaller particles can be removed by flowing a liquid through the line but the rate of flow of the liquid must be small due to the fact that the disconnected line is not easily contained. In some applications, purging of the system may merely be a need to cause the fluid in the lines to flow therethrough to overcome frictional resistance due to the fluid being cold. In other applications, it may be necessary to completely change the type of fluid in the hydraulic system without having to worry about spilling fluid and contaminating the environment.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.